Garment bag



D. E. LOWER April 4, 11950 GARMENT BAG Filed May 27, 1946 i.' Rui n u n SWW/Mofo Donald E Lowel;

. IIIIIIIIIII nl. lllllllllllllllllllllll l\\ Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GARMENT BAG(v Donald E. Lower, Lansdale, Pa., assigner-oi?v onehalf to Clair R. Grim, Table Rock', Pa.; Clair R. Grim, executor of saidy Donald E. Lower,

deceased, assigner of.' one-half; to Harry W. Lower, Butler Township, Pa.

Application May 27, 1946, Serial No. 672,593,

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to garment bags and particularly to bags of the type used for covering garments by cleaning and like establishments.

It is the general practice of cleaning establishments to cover garments with paper bags after they have been pressed. Such bags are generally made of light, inexpensive paper in the form of a flattened tube or envelope open at one end. A garment suspended on a hanger is inserted in the open end of the bag and drawn through until the hook of the hanger projects through an appropriate slot in the opposite end of the bag and the garment is fully enclosed. The bag then serves as a protective covering either for storing a garment on a rack or carrying it from a cleaning establishment. While satisfactory for storage purposes, such bags provide a cumbersome packa'ge for carrying garments, particularly when applied to womens dresses and other relatively long garments. Resort has been had to several expedients, such as pinning together the lower v and upper ends of the bag, but none has proved entirely satisfactory in providing an inexpensive means for compacting a bag without wrinkling the enclosed garment.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved garment bag having means for securing an intermediate portion of the bag to its upper end whereby the bag and the garment which it covers are foldable into a compact package which can be readily carried.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bag for covering a garment suspended on a hanger having a hanger-engaging attachment for supporting an intermediate portion of the bag on the hanger whereby the lower portion of the garment will be gripped by the opposite sides of the bag and held against slipping when the bag is folded, thus enabling the garment to be carried readily without wrinkling.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a garment bag which will serve both as a means securing an intermediate portion of a bag to its upper end and as a reinforcement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment bag having an attachment for Securing an intermediate portion of the bag to its upper end which is simple in construction and comparable in cost to the plain bags now in use.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, particularly pointed out in the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings ir, which:

Figure l is a plan view of a garment bag eme bodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the bag enclosing a garment suspended on a hanger, the bag being shown in partly folded position.

Figure 3 is a View of theA bag of Figure 2 in folded and secured position.

Figure 4 is a View taken along the lines 4H! of Figure 3 with the garment removed to more clearly show its details of construction.

Referringy now in detail to the drawings, illustrating a prefer-red embodiment of the invention and in which like reference characters indicate like parts, I designates a container or envelope. The container illustrated is of the usual type employed by cleaning and like establishments for covering garments. It is normally made of light, inexpensive paper in the form of a iiattened tube 2 open at its lower end 3 and having upper corners or naps i folded inwardly along diagonal lines conforming substantially to the conventional shoulder line of a garment. Intermediate the flaps the upper end of the tube is left open to provide a central opening 5 for the reception of a hook 6 of a hanger 1.

As shown in Figure 2, the container l is intended to cover or enclose a garment in the normal manner. A garment 8 suspended on a hanger is inserted in the container through the lower open end 3 and drawn inwardly until the hook 6 projects through the slot 5 and the shoulders of the garment substantially abut the diagonal inner surfaces of the upper end of the container. In this position, the container is preferably of such length as to fully enclose or cover the garment.

On one side of the container intermediate its ends, but preferably spaced below its longitudinal midpoint, is a tab, attachment or element 9. The tab can be made 0f paper, cardboard, cloth or like relatively inexpensive material which has suiiicient tensile strength to withstand the comparatively more concentrated stresses to which it is subjected. It is attached to the container by gluing or other more appropriate means. While tabs of numerous sizes and shapes will suilice, that shown has a rectangular inner portion or base l0 which is attached to and extends substantially across the container. The outer portion or ap l l of the tab has an arcuate outer edge both to increase its strength and to conserve material. Adjacent its outer edge and in line with the central opening 5 in the container, the flap is apertured to form a slot or aperture l2 through which the hook 6 of the hanger is adapted to project. Although a small circular slot would be adequate for wire hangers, the slot I2 is Preferably somewhat enlarged and oval-shaped to enable it to accommodate, as Well, hooks of hangers made of wood, fiber or other materials in general use for that purpose.

After the garment bag has been drawn over a garment in the manner previously described, its lower or bottom portion below the tab 9 is folded longitudinally of the container to form a lower panel I3. The fold-line I4 on which the lower panel is folded is then brought into contact with the upper portion or panel I5 adjacent the upper end of the latter by folding the container longitudinally along the fold-line I6. Thereafter, the tab and the hanger 'I are engaged or connected by inserting the hook 6 through the slot I2, thus securing the container in folded position. So secured, the garment bag and the enclosed garment form a compact package which will remain closed during subsequent handling and can be hung on a rack or be transported readily, using the hook 6 as a convenient handle.

When the bag is lifted by the hook or handle 6 the lower panel I3, the intermediate panel II and their contents are connected to the upper portion of the container and supported directly on the hanger 'I through the tab 9. During handling, the garment is looped over the lower fold on one side of the bag and its lower portion or fold is held within the lower panel I3 of the bag both by its weight and by the light gripping force eX- erted on it by the opposite sides of the bag along the fold-line I4, thereby preventing the lower part of the garment from slipping and crumpling and wrinkling in the lower part of the closed container. While intended primarily for transporting garments, the garment bag can be used merely as a protective covering for garments hung on a rack. When so used it is preferable that the tab and hanger be disengaged to permit the garment to hang freely and thus conserve space on the rack.

From the foregoing detailed description of the invention it will be understood that there has been provided an improved garment bag which can be used either as a cover for protecting garments when the latter are hung, freely suspended, on a hanger or can be converted into a readily handleable compact package by which a garment can be transported without wrinkling. It should 'be understood that the described and illustrated embodiments are merely exemplary and that all modifications are intended to be included that depart neither from the spirit of the invention nor the scope of the appended claim. For eX- ample, the intermediate portion of the container could be supported on a hanger by securing the tab to the upper end of the container. Other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A garment bag comprising an envelope of relatively light material open at its lower end and foldable longitudinally to form a plurality of panels, said envelope being adapted to cover a garment suspended on a hanger and being slotted at its upper end -to enable the hook of said hanger to project therethrough, and an element of relatively heavy material extending across said envelope and attached thereto throughout the extent thereof above a lower fold-line, said element reinforcing said envelope along said foldline and being slotted for receiving said hook and supporting the lower portion of said bag on said hanger.

DONALD E. LOWER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

